Protective device for lower extremities



y 1962 E. H. STEINEL ETAL 3,032,634

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR LOWER EXTREMITIES Filed March 30, 1960 INVENTORSfiles/v5 c. ROWE 3 RICHARD w. s/Mv Eon/0v STE/MEL B) QWMV;

ATTORNEY-S moves along the floor.

United States Patent M 3,032,634 PROTECTIVE DEVICE FGR LOWER EXTREMITIESEdwin H. Steinel 26301 Meadow Crest, Huntington Woods, Mich., and EugeneC. Rowe, 1914 Wayne St,

and Richard W. Sinn, 2505 Brockman Blvd, both of Ann Arbor, Mich.

Filed Mar. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 18,556 1 Claim. (Cl. 21919) This inventionrelates in general to a structure for protecting the lower extremitiesof a human and, more particularly, to a structure which is adapted forwarming the feet and shielding the legs of a human while said human isin either the sitting or standing position.

It is a well established fact that during cold weather relatively coolair, even in a well heated room, normally It is equally well-known thatpersons, such as typists or clerks, must often remain for long periodsof time with their feet in the path of this air movement. Such exposure,in addition to the discomfort, frequently results in a high incidence ofillness. This problem is materially increased where the floor issupported directly upon the ground or above an unheated crawl space.Thus, it is not unusual during cold weather to see clerks, typists andother persons in similar occupations wearing heavy, fleece lined bootsto avoid such discomforts. However, heavy boots create additionalproblems, such as they often become too warm and they often interferewith the movements of the person wearing them. It has also been foundthat circulation in the lower ex tremities of typists, for example, isoften sluggish due to inactivity and is sometimes impeded by improperposture or equipment. The result is a reduction of the normal fiow ofbody heat to the feet, thereby aggravating the problem. Thus, it can beseen that the persons who frequently are placed in a position wheretheir feet are exposed to the discomforts resulting from cold drafts arevery often the same persons who are unable because of their work togenerate the normal flow of heat producing circulation.

In addition to the above problems arising from the exposure of the feetand legs to cold air, there is the further problem of exposing the feetand legs to View. More specifically, the lack of shielding for the feetand/ or legs of a seated woman sometimes results in embarrassment forthe woman. For example, it is not uncommon for stenographers, who mustremain in one place, to remove their shoes in order to avoid thediscomforts imposed by fashion. Needless to say, this is not consideredacceptable appearance, even though it would create no problem if itcould not be seen. Moreover, and as a further extension of this problem,excessive amounts of the lower extremities sometimes become exposedaccidentally under these circumstances, completely without the knowledgeof the person involved.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provisionof a protective structure including a device for developing an externalsource of heat for warming the feet while, at the same time, protectingthe feet and legs of a human against the discomforts created by colddrafts or the embarrassment arising out of inadvertent exposure of thelower extremities.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a structurefor warming and shielding the lower extremities of a human, asaforesaid, which can be used by a person who is either standing orsitting, which will fit conveniently with a conventional desk, table orthe iike, which is light in weight and sturdy in construction, which isattractive in appearance, yet simple in construction, which can beoperated effectively at a minimum of cost,

3,032,534 Patented May 1, 1962 and which requires little or nomaintenance for continued successful operation.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent topersons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the followingspecification and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a protective structure embodyingthe invention in association with a table.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of said protective structuresubstantially as seen from the rear thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of said protective structure substantiallyas taken along the line III-III in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIGURE 3 andshowing a modified form thereof.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower, and derivativesthereof will have reference to the protective structure as appearing inFIGURES l, 2 and 3. The terms front, rear and derivatives thereof willhave reference to the portions of the protective structure which arerespectively remote from and adjacent to the person using thisstructure. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will havereference to the geometric center of said protective structure.

General Description The objects and purposes of the invention, includingthose set forth above, have been met by providing a housing which isopen at one end and has a portion of its top removed adjacent to itsopen end so that the feet and ankles of a human, whether in the standingor sitting position, can be received comfortably into the housing. Aplurality of risers are mounted beneath the housing for resting it upon,and spacing it from, a supporting surface. An electrically energizedheating member is mounted upon or in the bottom wall of the housing andis connected to a source of electrical energy. A flanged shield ismounted in an upright position on top of the foot housing so that saidshield extends between the sides of the foot housing near said open endand the flanges on the shield extend rearwardly along and above thesides of the housingto protect the legs of a person whose feet arelocated within the housing.

Detailed Construction The protective structure 10 (FIGURES l and 2) iscomprised of a foot housing 11 upon which a combined draft guard andmodesty shield 12 is mounted. The foot housing 11 includes a bottom wall13, a pair of substantially parallel side walls 16 and 17, a front endwall 18 and a partial top wall 19. The top wall extends rearwardly fromthe front end wall 18 about half as far as the bottom wall 13 extendsfrom the end wall 18. A leg recess 23 (FIGURE 2) is defined by therearward edge of the top wall 19 and the portions of the side walls 16and 17 which extend rearwardly from the top wall 19. Thus, as shown inFIGURE 3, the legs 22 of a person using the protective structure 10 canbe comfortably received into the recess 23 when the feet 24 of saidperson are disposed within the housing 11.

A heating member 26 (FIGURE 3), which may be an electrical heatingelement of a conventional type, is mounted upon or in one of the wallsof the foot housing 11. In this particular embodiment, the heatingmember 26 is imbedded in the bottom wall 13 and is connected byelectrical conductors 27 to a source of electrical energy, not shown.The bottom wall 13, as well as the heating member 26, may be covered bya rubber mat 29 which serves not only as a resilient foot rest, but alsoas an electrical insulator from the heating member 26. The walls of thehousing 11 may be fabricated from any light weight, durable materialsuch as wood, sheet metal, plastic or the like.

A plurality of risers 28 are secured to the lower side of the bottomwall 13 for spacing same from a supporting surface, such as the floor.Accordingly, the risers 28 materially reduce the heat losses which wouldoccur by conduction if the bottom wall 13, hence the housing 11, were indirect contact with the fioor.

The draft guard or modesty shield 12 (FIGURES 2 and 3) has a front endwall 31 and a pair of side walls 32 and 33 which are substantiallyperpendicular to the front wall and may be upward extensions of the sidewalls 16 and 17, respectively, of the housing 11. In this particularembodiment, the front wall 31 extends upwardly from the rearward edge ofthe top wall 19, and the sidewalls 32 and 33 extend rearwardly along theside walls 16 and 17 of the housing 11. The front wall 31 may be slopedslightly frontwardly, as shown herein, to minimize interference withknees, outer garments and the like. The draft guard 12, like the housing11, may be fabricated from any suitable material, such as wood, plasticor the like.

The draft guard 12 may be detachable from the housing 11, but ispreferably secured thereto, as illustrated herein. Thus, a hand gripopening 34 can be provided near the upper edge of the front wall 31 forthe purpose of engaging and transporting the entire protective structure10.

Resiliently flexible strips 36 and 37 may be secured to and along therearward edges of said side walls 16 and 32, and 17 and 33,respectively, to protect clothing and limbs.

The operation of the protective structure 10, which is self evident fromthe above disclosure, is effected merely by connecting the conductiveelement 27 to a source of electrical energy, such as the 110 volt outletof a conventional electrical system, whereby the heating member 26 isenergized and commences to radiate heat. The structure 11) may be movedinto any desired position so that the person using same can place his orher feet upon the bottom wall 13 while in either a standing or sittingposition, as may be required. The bottom wall 13 and risers 28 are ofsuflicient strength to support the weight of a person while holding thebottom wall 13 away from the supporting floor.

The heating member 26 is preferably located at least partially under thetop wall 19 so that some of the heat radiated therefrom tends to bepocketed in the front end of the housing from which it slowly rises byconvexion adjacent to the rear surface of the front wall of the draftguard 12. Thus, the heat produced by the member 26 also moves upwardlyalong the legs 22 of the persons using the protective structure 10.

The front end walls 18 and 31, as well as the top wall 19 protect thelegs 22 and feet 24 from drafts approaching the legs from the front. Anydrafts which approach from the opposite direction are at least warmed upby the warm air developed within the housing 11 by the heating member26. Cold drafts moving along the floor beneath the bottom Wall 13 arewarmed by radiation from the heating member 26.

Under some circumstances it may be either advantageous or desirable tohave the heating member 26a (FIG- URE 4) located in the front end wall18a of the housing 11a. Thus, although a particular preferred embodimentof the invention has been described in detail for illustrative purposes,it will be understood that variations or modifications of suchdisclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended claim, are fullycontemplated.

What is claimed is:

An apparatus for warming the legs and feet of a human, comprising: afoot housing including a bottom wall, a pair of substantially parallelside walls, an end wall and a top wall, said top wall extending fromsaid end wall along the upper edges of said side walls with its rearwardedge lying in a line substantially connecting the midpoints of saidupper edges, said housing being open on its rearward side; anelectrically energized heating member mounted upon the central portionof said bottom wall and located at least in part forwardly of saidrearward edge of said top Wall; a resilient, electrically non-conductivepad covering said bottom wall and the heating member thereon; electricalconductor means for connecting said heating member to a source ofelectrical energy; a plurality of riser elements secured to andextending along the lower side of said bottom wall for spacing same froma supporting surface; a shield mounted upon said housing, said shieldhaving a substantially vertical front wall and a pair of spaced,parallel side walls, said front wall extending upwardly from saidrearward edge and said side walls of said shield being substantially andrespectively coplanar with the side walls of said housing andsubstantially perpendicular to the front wall of said shield, wherebyboth the feet and legs of a human can be both heated and shielded fromair movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.139,897 Smith -1 Jan. 2, 1945 1,520,800 Blume Dec. 30, 1934 2,658,640Bayles Nov. 10, 1953 2,684,071 Story July 20, 1954 2,781,439 Lane Feb.12, 1957 2,851,573 Muccilli Sept. 9, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 115,272Switzerland June 16, 1926 907,931 France July 30, 1945

